Desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile telephones, tablets, and other electronic devices are commonly used to access webpage content generated by a variety of content publishers. Such content may include website pages that contain text, images, video, audio, and other items. Such webpage content may also include one or more advertisements positioned at various locations. In order to provide such advertisements as part of the webpage content, publishers typically submit an advertisement call to one or more advertisement exchanges positioned to facilitate real-time advertisement auctions for an available advertisement spot. In some examples, an exchange may facilitate a real-time auction among one or more advertisers (i.e., bidders) bidding on the available advertisement spot in response to the advertisement call. Such real-time auctions may last for milliseconds and, as a result, such auctions are often completed based on available data with varying degrees of accuracy and precision.
For example, publishers often include identification information with the advertisement call submitted to the advertisement exchange. Such identification information may include an advertisement ID or other similar identification code that is unique to a user receiving the content provided by the publisher. Such identification information may also include geographic information and/or other location identifiers indicative of a geographic location of the user device receiving the content sent by the publisher. Appending location information in the advertisement call increases relevance to consumers, which leads to improved advertisement performance and creates value to the publisher since advertisers are likely to place a higher bid, and ultimately pay a greater amount of money, for advertisement placements that include such information. For instance, such information, if accurate and precise, enables advertisers to target their advertisements to select audiences viewing the content and advertisement generated by the respective publishers. For this reason, such advertisers may be willing to pay a premium for advertisement placements based on such information.
Recently, however, it has become commonplace for some publishers to include inaccurate or invalid identification information in their respective advertisement calls. Since advertisers place advertisement space bids in a real-time advertisement auction without knowing whether the information provided by the publisher is accurate or precise, the advertisers risk overpaying the publisher for placement of their advertisement in the available advertisement space.